Alexander von Kluck

Alexander von Kluck (20 May 1846-19 October 1934) was a Colonel-General of the German Empire during the Austro-Prussian War, Franco-Prussian War, and World War I.

Biography
Alexander von Kluck was born on 20 May 1846 in Munster, Westphalia, and in 1870 he was awarded the Iron Cross for bravery after being wounded twice in the Franco-Prussian War at Colombey-Neuilly. In 1906 he was made a general of the Imperial German Army, and in 1913 he was made Inspector of the German 7th Army District. At the start of World War I in 1914, he was given command of the German 1st Army, invading France through Belgium in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan. This violated Belgium's neutrality and brought the United Kingdom into the war, overshadowing Germany's speedy conquest of Belgium. He won the Battle of Mons and the Battle of Le Cateau, but at the First Battle of the Marne he was defeated by the British and French, stopping him from capturing Paris. In March 1915 he was wounded by shrapnel, and he was given the Order Pour le Merite before retiring; not only was he wounded in the leg, but his son Egon was killed while serving as a Lieutenant. He died in Berlin in October 1934.